


Golden

by the1eyedtree



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Archery, Falling in love like the cuties they are, First Meetings, Fluff, Gentle Kissing, Javelin Throwing, M/M, Social Media, Summer Olympics, They're In Love Your Honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27950651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the1eyedtree/pseuds/the1eyedtree
Summary: On his way to his first Olympic games, Claude meets maybe the perfect man. But he didn't get his name...But luck is on his side when he finds him again at the games.This is a gift for @Mackaroon333 as part of the DimiClaude Mini Exchange! <3
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	Golden

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for @Mackaroon for the DimiClaude Mini Exchange! It was so much fun to write!! This event was also so much fun to be a part of!! :D Enjoy the fluff <3

The stock sound of a camera shutter closing crackled out of his phone speaker as Claude took his 17th selfie. The lighting was not optimal in the airport bathroom he was in. He clicked his tongue as he scrolled through his photos, deciding that he was going to have to use a snapchat filter to make at least one of them passible. He typed out a caption about “fun layovers” and posted it on all of his accounts. He glanced at the clock on his phone and sighed.

_Only 7 more hours to go._

He slung his bag over his shoulder and wandered out to see if he could find any entertainment. As he passed through the crowd, he wondered how many of them were heading to where he was.

Part of him still couldn’t believe he was an _Olympic Athlete_. He’d trained so hard and for so long. His phone buzzed to life with notifications from his posts – he’ll check those later…maybe. He walked by some of the shops, occasionally popping in to look at an item or a shirt on a whim. The scent of overpriced coffee wafted in the air around him. He glanced around until he spotted the Seirosbucks and its signature long line. Well, he certainly had time to kill.

Claude sauntered over to the commercialized café and joined the line of people. He pulled out his phone.

_269 notifications. Nice_.

He scrolled aimlessly for a while, before deciding to simply stare around at his bright surroundings. Advertisements flashed along many of the screens, even the generic one for the Olympics played. A commercial for rescuing animals played on a tv closer to the café. Claude watched as a sad puppy pawed at its empty food bowl.

“Aw, he’s got it pretty _ruff_ ,” Claude said, not minding that he was in public. The guy in front of him made a choking noise, and Claude looked up in time to see his shoulders shake with laughter. The man slowly glanced over his shoulder at Claude and barely held back a giggle.

“’Rough’? Like _ruff_ , ah -ha, because of the dog?” He pointed to the screen Claude had been watching. Claude was so struck by how _blue_ this guy’s eyes were that he almost forgot to nod. “That’s,” the man snorted, “really funny – oh, but animals being in need isn’t funny, oh goddess…” Seeing someone go from snorting to panicking nearly gave Claude whiplash, but he simply slid on a gentle smile.

“Of course,” he said. The man straightened up, but a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, and a giggle bubbled past his lips. Claude smiled too, happy that his joke was appreciated…especially by a tall, _gorgeous_ man. The line shuffled forward, and the guy turned a bit more so he could look at Claude properly. Claude caught a glimpse of a small tattoo on the man’s wrist. It was the Olympic rings – he must have competed in them before and was likely headed to the games to compete this year too. “Long layover, too?”

“Mmhmm – I think 7 hours? Yes, that sounds right.”

“Same! Though, I think we’ll be spending all of those hours in this line.” Almost as if to spite him, the line moved forward again. 

“I see why they put so many tv’s around.”

“You know you’ve reached _peak_ boredom when commercials are enthralling.” Claude leaned against the wall, and the guy stifled back a giggle again. A commercial with a catchy jingle played near them, and they both quietly sang along. They glanced up at each other and finally fell into a full fit of laughter. They tried to quiet down as the line moved forward again. The guy smiled at Claude before jumping when his own phone rang. He offered a sheepish smile before answering it. Claude purposefully looked at a tv screen off in the distance to give the man some privacy.

“Oh, you meant the other…that’s on the other side of the airport…okay, no don’t worry – I’ll come to you!” He hung up his phone and took a step forward before pausing and turning to Claude. “Turns out my friends are at the other Seirosbucks...um.”

“There are multiple Seirosbucks here? You know what, no, I’m not surprised there’s always multiple ones, lol. Well, have a great flight!”

“You too, hopefully yours isn’t… _ruff_!” The man’s eyes sparkled as he walked away. It was Claude’s turn to snort. That guy seemed nice. Maybe they’ll see each other at the games.

And then it donned on him.

He had no idea what that man’s name was.

. . .

“Claaaaauuude,” Cyril said, snapping his fingers in Claude’s face to get his attention. “Here we all thought you’d be vlogging or even napping, but you’re just…staring at a wall.”

Claude had in fact been staring at the wall across from his table in the little seating area near the food court. His coffee cup had long since run empty, and his most recent post was catching a lot of attention.

The caption “ _I may not know your name, but your laughter will forever ring in my heart #lostlove_ ” accompanied a forlorn selfie of Claude slumped in his chair.

Claude looked up at Cyril and seemed to return to reality. A few more of their teammates were with him, at least now he could be distracted. Though, every time he closed his eyes, he could see striking blue eyes sparkling with laughter. They killed the rest of their time trying to find the most expensive items up for purchase in the airport shops.

Claude did his best not to hope too much for the man from earlier to be on the same flight as him. His thoughts kept betraying him however and supplied fantasy after fantasy of the man appearing and sitting next to him. They could chat, maybe even watch a movie together, and if Claude happened to fall asleep and needed his head to be supported by a strong shoulder? Well perhaps such a nice man would offer his.

Claude sidled into his seat, having chosen the seat closest to the window because he loved to look out as they soared above the world. He tucked his bag under the seat in front of him and tried to get comfortable. His eyes wandered over every face that passed by him, but those blue eyes never appeared. Instead, a small child crawled into the seat next to him, and her mom took the remaining seat in their row. Claude offered a neutral smile out of courtesy and then popped his earbuds into his ears.

Their flight was only to be about 4 hours, but Claude’s mind wouldn’t stop racing. It was slowly sinking in that he was heading towards his first Olympic games. He took a selfie to calm his nerves and posted it. The little girl next to him stared at him until her mom pulled out an iPad to distract her.

About halfway through the flight, Claude decided to venture to the bathroom on the off chance he could find the guy from earlier. His eyes scanned every face from his seat all the way to the tiny bathrooms, and his heart sank a little when he didn’t see him. When he returned to his seat, decided to distract himself by reading his itinerary for the games for the 12th time.

. . .

Claude was absolutely awestruck as he walked down into the entrance of where the opening ceremony was being held. He and his fellow athletes looked at each other and grinned. They would be the first to enter since Almyra was at the top of the alphabet after Adrestia who would be entering last since they were hosting the games. He took a quick selfie, throwing up an ecstatic peace sign. He was still riding the high of having done really well in his preliminary event from earlier that day.

When they entered in, Claude couldn’t help but grin and wave as they passed by many cameras and people. He managed to catch some of what some of the reporters were saying.

“And Almyra has many promising athletes this year – there goes rising archery star and better known as ‘Almyra’s Sweetheart’, Claude von Riegan.”

Claude blushed and waved more – he was a bit surprised to be noticed. He wasn’t exactly what he would be called famous, but he had managed to cultivate a decent internet following when a video of him training went viral. His group was led to stand under their flag. They cheered and waved for the other competitors as they passed. Claude did his best to take everything in because _he was there, at the Olympics!_ But it was hard to hear the speeches from down where they were. He did have a good view of the final torch bearer though – a gymnast he’d heard about named Edelgard von Hresvelg.

As the ceremony began to wind down, all of the teams were told to gather for a large group picture. There were some excited shouts and shuffling as they all intermingled together – probably a publicity stunt to appear more unified. Someone bumped into Claude’s shoulder, and as he turned to look at them, he was lost in a sea of striking blue.

“It’s you!” Claude said, well, maybe he shouted it? He wasn’t really sure. The man from the airport smiled at him.

“H-hi!” He seemed to be just as surprised as Claude. Now that he was wearing a more fitted outfit, Claude could see how _muscular_ this guy was. Everyone around them was trying to get into the best position for the photo. They both turned and smiled for the cameras. Someone announced that they would now take a funny photo, and they had thirty seconds to pose.

“Uhh what would be a funny pose? Hmmm…” Claude mused. The guy also seemed to be giving it a great deal of thought. “With arms like that you could lift me! But uh – sorry I’m just thinking aloud!” Claude can’t believe he said that out loud.

“Oh, that would be fun! We only have a few seconds left – here,” the man said as he squatted down a little. Claude ignored how hot his cheeks felt and clambered onto the guy’s shoulders. He stood up straight and they both couldn’t help but laugh from feeling a little silly. Claude hoped the pictures turned out well and squeaked when he was lowered back to the ground. “Sorry!”

“No, it’s all good! Thanks for the lift.” The man bit back a giggle – Claude supposed he technically made a joke somewhere in there. And then he remembered his earlier dilemma. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Dimitri, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd,” he said as he offered his hand for a quick handshake.

“I’m Claude von Riegan-,”

“I know, I’ve seen your commercials.” Claude’s breath caught in his throat, and Dimitri was being pulled away by one of his teammates because they needed to exit to conclude the ceremony. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Claude squeaked out, waving as Dimitri was pulled away. His cheeks were even hotter now – _he knew who Claude was??_

“Oi, Claude we’re supposed to leave now!” Cyril pushed him lightly, and Claude’s mind finally caught up to him. He exited out of the arena with everyone else and they were directed back to the Olympic village. Claude was buzzing with excitement, both from the ceremony, and because he finally knew the name of the most… _beautiful_ man.

He was nearly too excited to sleep that night, but exhaustion made no compromises. He fell asleep curled up around his pillow before too long.

The alarm blared from his phone and woke him up bright and early in the morning. Claude slapped at it to turn it off and sat up. He stretched his arms and glanced over at Cyril who was still asleep somehow. Claude grabbed his phone to go through his morning scroll. He had _so many_ notifications, and at least 10 people had texted him the same article. He squinted at his screen.

The title of the article stared back at him. “ _Almyra’s Sweetheart having fun with Faerghus’s own Prince!_ ” Claude read the first paragraph of it.

_Almyran Olympic athlete, Claude von Riegan, was having a great time with returning Olympian Dimitri Blaiddyd of Faerghus, at last night’s Opening Ceremony. Pictured below are the two athletes taking a stand in unity despite the grand competition they are set to participate in_.

Claude looked at the cropped photo from last night and felt something in his stomach flutter. There he was, being held up by Dimitri, and smiling like a happy fool. He checked his twitter and saw that many people were oogling at the situation. There were even photos of the two of them talking. He looked so happy.

He snuck a look at some of the comments, and a lot of them were talking about both guys like they were _together_. Claude blushed at the thought. He glanced at his schedule and mentally laid out a plan for his day. He was the only one in their suite awake, so he showered before heading down to the cafeteria.

There were quite a few people down there, which he had been expecting, but still – it was really cool to see. He hopped into a line, grabbed whatever looked or smelled interesting, and carried his tray over to a drink station. He took what he’d need for his coffee. A few other athletes from Almyra were eating breakfast at a nearby table, so he joined them. They very quickly all agreed that the food was a little bland, but free food is free food. Claude tried to not focus too much on his phone, but the notifications and messages would not stop. His teammates invited him for a morning training session, and he joined – he was here to compete after all.

He decided to brave the long line of the infamous Olympic McDonalds for lunch. He made it through the line quicker than he thought he would and was soon looking for a place to sit. His eyes caught the sight of the Faerghus uniforms at one of the tables. His stomach attempted a flip when he saw Dimitri was with them. He took a deep breath and sauntered over to them.

“Oh, hey, Claude, right?” A red-haired man asked, smiling at him.

“Yeah!” Claude noticed the way Dimitri, who was facing away from him, tensed.

“I’m Sylvain – wanna sit with us?”

“If that’s okay with you guys, yeah!” There even happened to be a seat next to Dimitri. Claude sat down in what he hoped was a relaxed, chill way. And that’s when he noticed why Dimitri had tensed up. Dimitri was mid-bite in what was once a burger, but now simply two buns and enough slices of cheese to be two full inches thick. Dimitri finished his bite and bashfully looked down at his food.

He was incredibly cute.

Claude pulled the bun off his burger and tugged the cheese off of it. He offered it to Dimitri.

“Ah, thank you – you don’t have to-,”

“Honestly, now I’m curious how much cheese you can eat like this,” Claude said, genuinely curious about the human cheese capacity. Dimitri took the offered slice and added it to his sandwich. Claude smiled and bit into his burger. Everyone at the table chatted and it felt like Claude had known them for a long time.

They talked for hours and laughed when they realized that most people were now in there to eat dinner. Dimitri and Claude both headed to the same line. Claude’s stomach vibrated with the excited dance of a thousand butterflies as they waited. He listened eagerly as Dimitri recounted some of his ventures from the last Olympics. When they returned to their table, Claude arranged his food into something aesthetically pleasing and pulled out his phone.

“Are you going to take a picture of your food?” Dimitri asked, mid-bite of his dinner already.

“Gotta show the world I eat – wanna be in it with me?” Claude beamed at Dimitri who paused before nodding. Surely the light dusting of pink on his cheeks was a trick of the light in the cafeteria. Claude shifted in his seat and held his phone out to fit himself, Dimitri, and their food in the shot. He threw up a peace sign for good measure. He slapped a filter on the photo, added a witty caption, and posted it. Dimitri was halfway through his meal when Claude finally took his first bite.

. . .

This was it.

Claude’s competitor, a talented archer from Dagda, aimed his final arrow. Claude had the advantage over him, but if he scored a 10 and Claude scored less than an 8 on his final shot…

The man fired his last shot, and the arrow sank into the target. Claude didn’t let himself spend the extra energy to squint at his target. The announcer enthusiastically exclaimed “Ten!” and the crowd cheered.

Claude drew in a deep breath, blocking out the world. It was just him and his bow. He took aim, relishing in the way time seemed to bend and slow as he stared down at the target. He loved moments like this – he felt some ancient thrill of battle when he wielded his bow.

He let loose his final arrow.

His heart raced as the reality of where he was and what he was competing for came crashing down on him. He watched his arrow fly…

…right into the _center_ of his target.

“Ten!” The announcer’s voice rang in Claude’s ears. Claude stared at his arrow.

It was a perfect shot!

He spun around to look at his coach who had his arms up in a victory “V.” The sound of cheering finally reached his ears. Claude turned to his competitor and offered his hand. The man seemed disappointed but still shook his hand.

“Thanks for shooting – you really are amazing, please know competing with you was an honor!” Claude said, hoping the man would accept his genuine praise.

“You just shot a _perfect_ set,” the man said, awe overcoming his disappointment. Claude could only offer a small smile. The announcer broadcasted the final results, and Claude turned to face the crowd. He felt his heart leap when he spotted those dazzling blue eyes.

Dimitri waved excitedly to him. Claude blinked in shock before waving enthusiastically back.

He was there.

He came to watch Claude.

Claude’s head was spinning from the excitement of having just won gold and of having Dimitri see him compete. He was led over to the podium, and pure unbridled happiness flowed through him. When the gold metal – _the GOLD medal_ – was placed around his neck, he felt like he was dreaming.

As Almyra’s national anthem played, the fact that this was _real_ started to sink in. Tears welled up in his eyes as he belted out the lyrics. The next few minutes were an ecstatic blur of photos, answering reporters’ questions, being hugged by his fellow Almyrans and his coach, many congratulations from passersby.

“That was wonderful, Claude!”

Claude jumped when he heard Dimitri’s voice behind him. His medal bounced against his chest when he turned to face him.

“Dimitri! I have to admit, I’m surprised to see you here!”

“I wanted to see you compete, and I’m glad I did!” Dimitri smiled, and Claude blushed. “You were incredible out there.”

They both turned when a few photographers started taking pictures of them. Claude figured that the internet was going to happily eat these photos up.

“I’m glad you were here, too, Dimitri,” Claude said before his coach and a few of the event workers were pulling him away. Claude’s mind might have been playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn Dimitri looked sad to see him go.

. . .

After an afternoon of joyful celebrations and a night of amazing sleep, Claude found himself convincing some of his friends to join him in his quest to see Dimitri compete. Cyril reluctantly agreed; Ashe, who was from Faerghus and had won silver in the Archery Teams event, happily agreed because he both wanted to see Dimitri and get to know Claude better; and Hilda, an influencer from Leicester who Claude had met through social media years ago, agreed because “watching beefy men through things is kinda hot.”

The stadium for the Javelin Throw competition was much larger than where Claude had competed the day before. The four of them found their seats and took it all in.

“Faerghus normally does pretty well in this sport, right? Hilda asked.

“Oh yeah – this is really the only summer sport we seem to excel at!” Ashe explained. “The world record keeps being broken and set by Sylvain and Dimitri.” Claude had spent a part of his morning trying to find out as much as he could about Dimitri. He didn’t really have a social media presence, but there were definitely articles about him. Apparently, Dimitri had held the world record going into the last Olympic games, but Sylvain had managed to set a new record at the games. He took the gold, and Dimitri took silver. They seemed like good friends, but surely competing against each other like that had its tougher moments?

Claude sat up on the edge of his seat when the athletes began to enter the stadium. He could see Dimitri on the large screens. He looked super focused, and there wasn’t even a hint of the laughter in his eyes that Claude had come to associate with him. He was gorgeous in a whole new way like this. The event began, and when Dimitri stepped up to throw for the first round, Claude watched intently.

Dimitri ran and hurled his javelin. Claude felt bewitched. Could Dimitri have felt like this when watching him compete yesterday? _Was it possible?_ Dimitri’s javelin landed around the 84 meter mark. A pretty good start! The event was pretty fast paced, and soon it was the last set. Claude held his breath and watched Dimitri prepare for his final throw while the other competitors were throwing. Honestly, Claude thought that he could watch Dimitri stretch his arms forever. Dimitri took his javelin in hand and took his place to start. Claude could see on the screen that Dimitri’s eyes were alight with burning passion.

Claude forgot how to breathe.

Dimitri ran and threw his javelin as if he were trying to defeat a large monster that was attempting to harm someone he loved – okay, maybe Claude was just projecting. Everyone watched as his javelin flew through the air. It stuck into the ground, and there was an eruption of applause from the crowd.

_100.94 meters_.

Dimitri just broke the world record by nearly _three meters_. Claude watched as Dimitri realized his results and quite literally _roared_ a battle cry of excitement. Claude was cheering and jumping up and down – that was one of the most incredible things he’s ever seen! Dimitri stepped to the side and cheered as Sylvain threw the last shot of the event. It was an impressive 97.84 meters, but that was it – _Dimitri won gold!_ Claude watched Dimitri pulled Sylvain into a hug.

The medaling ceremony featured a very rosy-cheeked Dimitri. Claude wanted, no, he _needed_ to get down to him as soon as possible. His friends helped navigate him down to where the athletes would be coming out of the stadium.

They saw each other at the same time. Claude squeaked when Dimitri ran up to him and pulled him into a crushing hug.

“Ah! D-Dimitri that was _amazing_ ,” Claude tried to say, but it came out in a rush of air from being squeezed a little too tightly.

“Oh – I’m so sorry, Claude!” Dimitri carefully let him go. Claude caught his breath.

“It’s fine! You have every right to be so excited!” Claude smiled at him. Dimitri looked at him with such a bright look in his eyes…now that Claude really looked, there was something else burning in his expression. Maybe it was just the rush of victory?

“Hey, did you guys come to watch? That’s so sweet!” Sylvain said, appearing next to Dimitri. His newly earned silver medal sparkled in the light. Ashe excitedly recounted their experience of the day, but Claude found himself not really hearing him. How could he listen when Dimitri was looking at him so softly?

“Claude can you get me into the party?” Hilda’s pout was evident in her voice.

“A-what?”

“Were you zoning out? Come on – the party we were literally _just_ talking about.”

“I’d be happy to have a pretty girl like you as my plus one!” Sylvain chimed in. Hilda gave Claude a solid glance over before shrugging.

“Great!”

“I already have plans, but you all have fun with that!” Cyril announced.

“Same,” Ashe said.

“What about you, Claude?” Dimitri asked, shifting his weight like he was suddenly nervous. “Would you like to go to the party with me?”

_‘with me’…_

_With Dimitri_ …

“I’d love to,” Claude said before he could overthink a reason not to go.

. . .

A knock on the door of his suite alerted Claude to Dimitri’s presence. He smoothed back his hair one last time before going over to answer it. Dimitri’s greeting was lost on him because his brain was too focused on computing the captivating beauty standing before him. Dimitri was wearing a black leather jacket over a t-shirt of a pop-punk band, ripped black tight-fitted jeans, black lace-up boots, and his hair was partially pulled back. The part of Claude’s mind that always focused on aesthetics for his posts pointed out that their outfits were very complimentary of each other and that together they _oozed_ street fashion. Claude was wearing a golden button-up short-sleeved shirt tucked into black pants that stopped at his ankles and did wonders for his figure.

“You look nice!’ Claude finally found his voice. Dimitri smiled softly and gestured to Claude.

“Thank you. Gold looks good on you,” Dimitri said, laughter sparkling in his eyes and making Claude’s heart beat faster.

“Trust me, it looks good on you too.” Claude relished in how he was able to make Dimitri blush. Once recovered, Dimitri offered his arm like an absolute gentleman.

“Shall we head out?” Claude triple checked that he had everything he needed, before nodding and intertwining his arm with Dimitri’s. Claude buzzed with anticipation as they walked down and out of the building. Neither of them said anything, but Claude didn’t feel uncomfortable in the silence – like this, he was able to focus on how Dimitri’s arm felt against him without having to worry about potentially saying something stupid. They met up with their group, and they all started walking to the hotel where the party was being hosted.

“Aw, we couldn’t have gotten, like, an uber?” Hilda whined.

“Those are very hard to get at the games, plus, the hotel is only three blocks away!” Claude pointed out.

“Say that to me again _in heels_ von Riegan!” Claude stuck his tongue out at her.

“If you’re okay with it, I could always carry you,” Sylvain said, smiling at her.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

Claude glanced up at Dimitri who was carefully watching where they were walking. He hadn’t fully anticipated their silence to last in company. Was Dimitri too nervous to speak? Maybe he was tired after competing? A breeze blew around them, and Claude clung closer to Dimitri.

“Are you cold?” Dimitri looked down at him, concerned.

“Just from the breeze – should be fine when we’re inside!” Claude assured him. Luckily, they arrived soon after – and boy was it quite the sight! They found their way into the ballroom which was bustling with people. “Is that an ice sculpture?!”

“Yes! It was donated by the Faerghus government,” Dimitri explained.

“Oh! So, this is a party celebrating your athletes?”

“It’s for all of the competitors! But I suppose after today…”

“ _We_ should celebrate!” Claude smiled at him. “Though, I super need to take a picture with that!” Dimitri chuckled.

“Your fans would lament if you didn’t,” he said, and pulled a now giggling Claude over to the sculpture.

“Oh, have you been conversing with them?”

“Perhaps I’ve _seen_ some things.” Dimitri side-glanced at him, and Claude’s mind froze up. “Would you like me to take your picture?”

“Actually, I’d…like you to be in it with me.” Claude pulled out his phone and looked up at Dimitri.

“If you would like, of course! ...What should I do?” Claude gently guided him to stand in front of the sculpture and then spun around and held his phone up. He could see Dimitri watching him to see how to pose.

“Just like that, you’re a natural!” Claude praised him and took a few shots. “Question now is should I post something now? Nah, I should wait, otherwise people might find us here,” Claude mumbled to himself.

“Oh, they have so many snacks here.” Claude’s attention shifted back to Dimitri who was staring at the table holding the sculpture. Claude looked down and saw many platters of finger foods. When he looked back up, Dimitri had a small plate full of little cheeses.

“Is that your secret to success?”

“Hm?” Claude chuckled.

“I think I’ve only seen you eat cheese,” Claude explained hoping that Dimitri wouldn’t think he was judging him.

“Ah…well, um, I really like it.”

“Then we should grab two plates because we’re _celebrating_!” Claude smiled and grabbed a plate, picking out some tasty treats and cheeses to take. “To be honest, I’m not actually sure what kinds most of these cheeses are.”

“I can show you! Ah, if you’d like that is…”

“Oh, please do!” Claude followed Dimitri over to a tall table that they could set their little plates upon. “Ooh, what if I try to guess what kinds they are!” It was hard to tell in the low lighting of the ballroom, but Claude could have sworn that Dimitri was blushing.

Dimitri straightened his posture and held up a small cube of cheese. Claude studied it for a few seconds and rubbed his chin in thought.

“It’s…definitely cheese!” Claude beamed at Dimitri who lowered the cheese back to the plate.

“You are technically correct.” Claude listened intently as Dimitri named each cheese on his plate. Claude felt like the rest of the room had faded away, and it was just the two of them. The fact that Dimitri was sharing so much of something he loved made something burn deep within Claude – like someone had wrapped his heart in a fluffy warm blanket. Someone called out to Dimitri and approached them. The man offered his congratulations to Dimitri for his amazing performance today. When it was just the two of them again, Claude spoke up.

“Has it hit you yet?”

“No, which is strange because last time it was startlingly instantaneous. What about you?”

“I still feel like I should be preparing, like it’s not over.”

“Like someone’s going to come up to you and tell you to try again because something was wrong?”

“Or like it was just a dream…but hey, we both _did it_!” Claude reached for a cube of cheese at the same time as Dimitri, and their hands brushed lightly. Claude felt sparks shoot all the way through his body and shyly pulled his hand back. Dimitri’s hand hovered over the plate for a few moments before grabbing a piece of cheese.

“We did. You were very fun to watch.”

“Oh?” Claude blushed and tried to hide it by eating a little snack cake.

“You had such control – you were downright mesmerizing!” Dimitri looked at him in awe, and Claude nearly choked on the cake.

“You were incredible too – I felt like I was watching an epic battle!”

“I’ve been told I look very intense when I throw…”

“That intensity was also… _mesmerizing_.” Dimitri looked surprised before registering that Claude was using his same choice of words. He looked like he was about to laugh it off as a joke, but Claude looked at him with complete awestruck sincerity.

Claude’s mind raced as they stared at each other.

_When had he fallen so hard?_

_He barely knew Dimitri._

_Why did everything feel so much brighter when this stranger was near him?_

Claude’s musings were interrupted by Sylvain appearing next to them.

“Unsurprisingly, you’ve found the cheese – you guys should come dance with us!” the red headed silver medalist said, resting his hand on Dimitri’s shoulder. Claude glanced at the crowd in the ballroom and saw that many were dancing in front of a well-equipped DJ. Dimitri stuttered out some sort of attempt at an excuse but fell silent when Claude offered his hand to him.

“Moving around is good for relieving all the pent-up excitement of victory,” Claude said. That seemed to be enough to convince Dimitri. When he grabbed his hand more sparks shot through Claude’s being, but he turned his focus to following Sylvain onto the dance floor. They found Hilda as a bombastic electrical beat played. It was near impossible to hear each other, so they had to fully rely on physical communication.

Dimitri was still holding his hand. Claude looked up at him, electricity dancing in his veins. Dimitri was watching everyone around them – perhaps tying to see how best to dance. Claude gently grabbed his other hand and swayed to the beat of the music. Dimitri followed his lead and stayed close to him. Claude felt a little like he was melting under Dimitri’s unwavering gaze. More and more people crowded onto the dance floor and they ended up dancing _very close_ to each other. Normally, Claude thrived when getting attention – but when it was all from one person, he found himself blushing and unable to make eye contact. He tried to mask this by putting his all into dancing.

They danced for maybe five songs? It was a little hard to tell when Claude’s mind was buzzing with only thoughts of Dimitri. Claude tugged on his hand a little, and Dimitri followed him away from the dancing. Claude wasn’t sure where he was trying to go, but the prospect of fresh air was alluring. He found his way out and soon they were outside in a courtyard with the entire Olympic complex lit up in the distance.

“Are you alright?” Dimitri asked, though he also seemed relieved to be outside.

“Yes! Just – kinda felt like a sardine in there, and if I dance anymore, I think my limbs are gonna turn into noodles,” Claude said, a smile playing on his lips and dancing in his eyes.

“Ah, I understand – it might have been too ambitious of me to try to dance so much after today.”

“It was…pretty fun though I gotta say.”

“Very much so! I…hope we can do it again sometime, perhaps after resting of course.”

“I would like that, too.” Claude looked up at him, and then realized they were still holding hands again. He took a step closer to Dimitri. Another breeze blew past them, and Claude shivered.

“Perhaps it is a good thing you play a _summer_ sport,” Dimitri observed. He let go of Claude’s hand, and Claude was surprised at how disappointed he felt. Dimitri pulled off his jacket and pulled it around Claude’s shoulders. Claude’s relief at being enveloped in warmth outweighed the rush of other feelings within him.

“I’d be a little popsicle in the cold, and dare I say, _useless_ in competition.”

“That would be a shame – I would be sad to not see you compete.”

“Oh?” Claude’s cheeks somehow found a way to burn hotter.

_They were standing so close now_.

“Dimitri,” Claude continued, “I know we don’t really know each other well yet, but I – I can’t help but feel-,”

“ _Drawn to you_ ,” Dimitri finished his sentence.

“ _Yeah_ …I’m – I must confess I couldn’t stop thinking about you after we met at the airport…” Claude looked to the side of Dimitri, embarrassment coiling in his belly.

“I…must confess the very same, Claude.” They stared at each other, eyes gleaming with so many emotions. With the lights of the Olympic games shimmering behind them, they leaned in close. Dimitri pressed perhaps the most gentle kiss to Claude’s lips. Claude felt like he was floating – this was…maybe actually even better than winning gold. _Well, okay maybe only by a little_.

They eventually made their way back inside, hand in hand and smiling bright. Claude kept Dimitri’s jacket on – he wasn’t ready to relinquish it. Sylvain and Hilda gave them knowing looks before high-fiving each other. When the party finally wound down, and Hilda was safely on the way to her hotel, the three of them headed back to the village. Dimitri even walked Claude back to his suite.

“So, breakfast tomorrow, yeah?” Claude asked, holding back a yawn.

“We can try to brave the McDonalds line.”

“Sound’s,” the yawn finally broke out of him, “good.” Dimitri smiled at him, sleepiness pulling at his own features. Claude pulled off the jacket and handed it to him.

He pressed a kiss to Claude’s cheek.

“Goodnight Claude.”

“Goodnight Dimitri.” Claude watched him walk down the hallway and waved before he disappeared into the elevator. Claude closed the door, thankful that everyone else was either asleep or gone. He leaned against the door, smiling a dopey, truly happy smile.

. . .

The line for the McDonalds was the longest they’ve seen it yet, but they were determined. Claude leaned on Dimitri and stared at the staggeringly high number of notifications on his phone. The photos of him and Dimitri were _blowing up_.

“I see they liked the ice sculpture,” Dimitri said and chuckled.

“It was a hit! As was you.” Claude smiled up at him and was surprised to see a blush upon Dimitri’s face. Dimitri cleared his throat and seemed to collect himself.

“You have many followers, yes?”

“ _A few_.” Claude held up his phone so Dimitri could see the count.

_899,648 followers_.

“I think if I’m a little more active I can hit one million,” Claude explained.

“I think I have 14 followers.”

“You have an account?? I couldn’t find _anything_ when I looked befor-,” Claude clapped his hand over his mouth – he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“I haven’t exactly posted much – I can never think of what to say.” They both looked up when a group of giggling girls walked by. Claude could hear bits and pieces of what they were whispering.

“Hm, I guess we are aren’t we.” Claude mumbled

“Are what?”

“T-together?” They hadn’t discussed it, but that’s what they were right? Dimitri nodded.

“We are,” Dimitri confirmed. Claude felt his heart explode in fireworks. He stood up on his tip toes and kissed Dimitri on the cheek, and Dimitri wrapped his arms around Claude’s middle.

“You’re my… _boyfriend_.” Claude tried to smirk, but his true smile burned right through it.

“And this line _hasn’t moved_.”

“I knooooow, but I want a McMuffin.” Claude pouted. Dimitri rested his chin on top of Claude’s head.

“We could technically leave the village and go find a regular McDonalds.”

“ _But this is free_.”

“Fair point.”

Claude’s phone lit up with another notification, this time it was a snapchat from Sylvain. Claude opened it. It was a picture of Claude and Dimitri standing in the line with “Y’all are cute <3” captioned over it. He felt Dimitri shift and watched as he found Sylvain in the crowd of the cafeteria. Dimitri made a face at Sylvain who held his hands up in surrender. The line finally shifted, and they had to detangle from each other to walk with it. Claude reached for Dimitri’s hand though to keep _some_ contact.

“When are you thinking of leaving the village?” Claude asked.

“I had originally intended on leaving yesterday, but well I had quite the reason to stay.”

“ _Ah_.” Claude smoothed his hair back to calm himself. “I’ve been so focused that I didn’t really take anything in – would it be bad to stay at least till the end of the week?”

“No, well, if you’re fine with the tiny beds, that is.”

“I guess they would be _tiny_ for you, wouldn’t they?” Claude playfully nudged Dimitri’s arm with his shoulder.

“I understand the efficiency of them, but…” Dimitri trailed off when the line moved again. “Oh, look we can see it now at least!”

“Thank goodness – we’re saved!” Claude said dramatically, leaning on Dimitri for added effect. A song Claude recognized started playing when he straightened himself back up, and he swayed to the beat. Dimitri wrapped his arms around him again and therefore had to sway with him. “Dimitri?”

“Hm?”

“This is nice.” Claude’s cheeks burned to admit it, but it was true. Winning gold, finding a boyfriend, maybe finally getting a McMuffin? Claude’s heart was overflowing with happiness. Dimitri hugged him a little tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Happy holidays everyone! Stay golden ;)


End file.
